Books and good reads [Merged] | PUNT ROAD END | Richmond Tigers Forum
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Books and good reads [Merged]

spook

Kick the f*ckin' goal
Jun 18, 2007
21,919
26,432
Melbourne
easy said:
Tuna - kenneth cook

I got excited when i saw this in the ulmarra 2nd hand books.

It was $10, so i figure its hard to come by, but from the bloke wrote 'wake in fright', i wouldve paid $20.

cook makes hemmingway look like the alpha-*smile*stick that he was.

And he understands small town australia better than winton,white or woewodin.

In fact, and i dont say this lightly, in this novel cook does coastal nsw like steinbeck does sth california.

On business transacted in pubs, and aussie racism, Cook is unsurpassed.

This is a great novel. Get your library to find it, and read it in a hammock with a chain of stubbies delivered by your youngest son, if you have one.

5 stars.
On your recommendation I bought a first edition Tuna, haven't got to reading it yet.

I'm reading Deep Time Dreaming: Uncovering Ancient Australia, a look at how Australian archeology developed and pushed out the accepted length of Aboriginal occupation from a few thousand years to 7000, to 20,000, to 40,000, to the current 65,000, as well as proving connection to Country, that Aussie blackfellas were the first bakers, how their diets changed and more. Well written and fascinating reading into the long and rich history of our land.
 
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easy_tiger

Guest
spook said:
On your recommendation I bought a first edition Tuna, haven't got to reading it yet.

I'm reading Deep Time Dreaming: Uncovering Ancient Australia, a look at how Australian archeology developed and pushed out the accepted length of Aboriginal occupation from a few thousand years to 7000, to 20,000, to 40,000, to the current 65,000, as well as proving connection to Country, that Aussie blackfellas were the first bakers, how their diets changed and more. Well written and fascinating reading into the long and rich history of our land.

Hope you enjoy it Spook. If you do have a read of another Cooky, slaughter house

i dont get time to read any non-fiction whatsoever, between my pre and fiction habits.

Hey mick - the perfect anecdote to your Daylesford writers group - Slaughterhouse Kenneth Cook. You can find it in a great triple novel with Tuna and Pig commonly 2nd hand and its possibly the most truthful Aussie novel collection in existence.
 

Michael

Tiger Champion
Nov 30, 2004
4,375
51
Easy, im still searching for Tuna.

Have you read Bidge of Clay, Markus Zusak. Another aussie dysfunctional family. BIg book, but a good read
 
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easy_tiger

Guest
Michael said:
Easy, im still searching for Tuna.

Have you read Bidge of Clay, Markus Zusak. Another aussie dysfunctional family. BIg book, but a good read

Go for the triple novel collection tuna ;slaughterhouse ;pig-
A decent 2nd hand joint should be able to find it. Its a great value book. If i see it again ill grab it and send (i dont keep books, i read em and give em away, although i have a steinbeck collection and am regretting not collecting Cook). Theres a character in slaughterhouse called Verdon who is one of the greatest aussie characters ever contructed.

Never heard of zusak - ill take a look.
 

tigersnake

Tear 'em apart
Sep 10, 2003
23,484
11,634
Just read Terra Australis by Matthew Flinders. Incredible yarn, just amazing. Its the small details that make it, stuff that is in the source material but gets written out in secondary stuff. He had a *smile* brother who he kept employing out of family loyalty but he was jealous, useless and undermined him every chance he got. He had two aboriginal crew members who he was good friends with, it makes for a few funny scenes, 'we encountered a band of indians on the beach, I sent Bongaree to talk to them, he returned and said he couldn't understand a word they said'. Constant problems with crappy, leaky, old boats that we'd sail off in due to his obsession, then be constantly hamstrung by boat problems in remote locations with no ports, people etc. Was shipwrecked off Cape York, left his men on a sand bank, took a small crew and rowed back to Sydney for help, returned triumphant just as the crew were constructing a raft because they'd lost hope. Mindblowing stuff.
 

spook

Kick the f*ckin' goal
Jun 18, 2007
21,919
26,432
Melbourne
easy said:
Go for the triple novel collection tuna ;slaughterhouse ;pig-
A decent 2nd hand joint should be able to find it. Its a great value book. If i see it again ill grab it and send (i dont keep books, i read em and give em away, although i have a steinbeck collection and am regretting not collecting Cook). Theres a character in slaughterhouse called Verdon who is one of the greatest aussie characters ever contructed.

Never heard of zusak - ill take a look.
The Grapes of Wrath is one of the greatest novels of the 20th century. Masterpiece.
 
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easy_tiger

Guest
spook said:
The Grapes of Wrath is one of the greatest novels of the 20th century. Masterpiece.

I havnt read a better book yet

Correction on the cook novella, its bloodhouse not slaughterhouse
 

tigertim

something funny is written here
Mar 6, 2004
29,896
12,166
Michael said:
Boy Swallows Univers, Trent Dalton
Quuensland crime set in the 80's amongst a dysfunctional family
Some really good characters and great 80's aussie references
Not bad at all
I downloaded this as a freebie offer so I’ll give it a go.

I have a stupid tendency to read multiple books at once so I’m reading the Phil Hughes bio, a book about Freddie Mercury by one of his roadies (Don’t recommend it), a book about the ex chief of police in NYC, David Marrs book on Pell and Pryor Conviction by Richard Pryor. Yes, I read a lot of biographies/autobiographies.
 

taztiger4

Shovelheads- Keeping hipsters off Harley's
Jul 13, 2005
7,814
6,445
Richmond Victoria
Michael said:
Boy Swallows Univers, Trent Dalton
Quuensland crime set in the 80's amongst a dysfunctional family
Some really good characters and great 80's aussie references
Not bad at all

bought this on my Kindle & are about 2/3 way through, very good read thanks
 

Michael

Tiger Champion
Nov 30, 2004
4,375
51
Easy, managed to get my hands on a copy of Tuna, from the local library of all places.
Not bad at all. Gees they treated woman poorly back then.
Loved the characeters and how life revolved around the pub.

I'll check to see if they can get more Kenneth Cook at my local library.
BTW they're good places, hadnt been in one since i left school
 
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easy_tiger

Guest
Michael said:
Easy, managed to get my hands on a copy of Tuna, from the local library of all places.
Not bad at all. Gees they treated woman poorly back then.
Loved the characeters and how life revolved around the pub.

I'll check to see if they can get more Kenneth Cook at my local library.
BTW they're good places, hadnt been in one since i left school

:fing32

Im reading an old (30's?) pocket western author my old alcoholic great uncle bob used to read in his shack

Zane Gray - riders on the purple sage.

out of print but amazon printed it up (on very unsatisfying A4 size) and posted it for $7.

Its pretty good

see they've made a movie out of Patrick Dewitts ripper book The Sisters Brothers? Opens on Anzac Day I think. it looks well cast and has good reviews. Ill be getting along for sure.
 

K3

Tiger Legend
Oct 9, 2006
5,213
973
scottyturnerscurse said:
This is very good.

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/04/22/guantanamos-darkest-secret

Thanks for the post mate. Had a read and found it to be a great article! It then made me think of the Aus Govt leaving Hicks to rot there, and now doing the same to Assange.

No lessons learned...
 

eZyT

Tiger Legend
Jun 28, 2019
21,435
25,779
Just finished Robert Drews latest WhipBird.

Its just a book, but if you see it at the ops shop (where I get all my books) or library,

its extra enjoyable for us tigers as the protagonist is a middle aged man whose world is tethered to the richmond football club.

Also went and saw the 1 woman show of Kenneth Cooks 'wake in fright' which, similarly to whipbird, isnt earth shattering but worth the price of entry.

another really good Kenneth cook I read recently (think ive read them all now?) is The Judas Fish.

If anyone has/sees a copy of 'play little victims' by Kenneth Cook, let me know. Ive been looking for it for 30 years and Im beginning to doubt it actually exists.
 

bigwow

Tiger Legend
Jul 24, 2003
8,453
6,048
Melbourne
If anyone has/sees a copy of 'play little victims' by Kenneth Cook, let me know. Ive been looking for it for 30 years and Im beginning to doubt it actually exists.
Read this at high school in the early 80's, there's a copy on ebay for $140 if you're desperate.
 

eZyT

Tiger Legend
Jun 28, 2019
21,435
25,779
Read this at high school in the early 80's, there's a copy on ebay for $140 if you're desperate.

yeah I read it at school in about '86.

$140 holy *smile*. they must have only printed 60 copies for your and my class bigwig?
 

Michael

Tiger Champion
Nov 30, 2004
4,375
51
A Man Called Ove, Fredrick Backman
Not my usual go, but really enjoyed Ove. Had a bit of a cry
 
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